Harvard professor David Edwards wrote a graphic novel envisioning a future world where people ingested their food by smelling, or “whiffing,” it. That vision begot Le Whif, the chocolate inhaler.

“Over the centuries we’ve been eating smaller and smaller quantities at shorter and shorter intervals,” Edwards said. “It seemed to us that eating was tending toward breathing, so, with a mix of culinary art and aerosol science, we’ve helped move eating habits to their logical conclusion. We call it whiffing.”

In high school I called it huffing, but that might have been something else entirely. This version comes in four chocolate flavours: mint chocolate, raspberry chocolate, mango chocolate, and milk chocolate.

If it can curb people’s appetites as advertised, great, no complaints here. But my snap reaction is this is just another way to boost chocolate consumption amongst members of the population that enjoy sticking things in their noses. [Le Whif via Boing Boing Gadgets]

DHS is currently collecting human odour samples and beginning preliminary work to uncover indicators that could be used against potential criminals. Essentially, they believe that an odour may not only be unique to a particular individual, but can also a “useful indicator of certain human behaviors.” This research has a foundation in recent studies that have used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyse organic compounds in human sweat. These studies have indicated that there may very well be marker compounds in human sweat that can be used to identify individuals, and that these “odour fingerprints” can change over time for as yet unknown reasons.

Naturally, civil liberties advocates (especially the smelly ones) are taking issue with this research, claiming that the department had “misplaced priorities.”

“The history of DHS’ deployment of these technologies has been one colossal failure after another,” he said. “There is no lie detector. This research has been a long, meandering journey, which has taken us down one blind alley after another.”

Personally, I would have to agree with the ACLU on this one. I’m no scientist, but I would imagine that there are too many variables like diet and scented perfumes/creams that could result in inconsistencies. It seems like less of an exact science than other biometric technologies. [UPI]

Users sign up on the site and enter reports on what they encounter, kind of like Gawker Stalker—but for odours. According to the lists of encounters though, it doesn’t seem like it’s only for bad smells—watermelon and curry make the list too. [Japan Probe]

This component is vital for the safety of astronauts in space. Humans can tolerate some smells without noticing until it’s too late to react. As Margaret A. Ryan, the principal researcher of the ENose project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, puts it:

The ENose is a ‘first-responder’ that will alert crew members of possible contaminants in the air and also analyse and quantify targeted changes in cabin environment.

The ENose uses polymer films that react to different chemicals in the air by changing their electrical conductivity. It can analyse aerosols and vapours, as well as monitor chemical spills, and even send data to the JPL’s ENose computer, which can do more complex analysis. It’s extremely sensitive: Depending on the chemical, it can detect “fractional parts per million to 10,000 parts per million.”

What is surprising is that the ENose is not yet a permanent part of the ISS. In fact, it’s surprising that something like the ENose has never been a permanent part of any modern space mission except for the brief six-day demonstration that John Glenn did on STS-95, back in 1998. [JPL]

[Latestbuy]

For them, what comes across is a smell of fried steak, hot metal and even welding a motorbike.

There you have it, fried steak and hot metal. Much like my apartment. Omega Ingredients–probably an Spectra subsidiary–is working on this space fragrance based on the testimonies of the astronauts who have been in space. You know, all those guys and girls who went into the Moonraker program. The resulting meat-and-metal eau de cologne could–according to them–be used by Nasa to increase the realism of their simulations. [Daily Mail]

Fremont, California (September 3, 2008) – ASUS unveiled a unique
feature for laptops during Project 2008 this past week in Las Vegas,
Nevada — a laptop with a scent. The laptops were featured at the
Microsoft “Spotlight on PC Fashion” Internet café and media lounge and
generated a lot of attention from numerous curious, trend-setting show
attendees.

The ASUS F6V is available in various high glossy LCD covers in pink,
blue, green and black and four different scents that include: floral,
grass, ocean and cologne. In addition, the 13.3″ ASUS F6V includes an
exclusive ergonomic palm rest composed of white carbon fiber;
providing much more durability as compared to a conventional laptop
palm rest.

The ASUS F6V Series laptops are a revolutionary breakthrough in
technology and design. The ATI HD 3470 graphics card provides supreme
detail for photos and animation. It also includes the latest model of
fingerprint authentication reader, which provides a brand new level of
security for personal data. With HDMI port and a 1.3 M pixel web cam,
ASUS F6V owners can enjoy entertainment, portability and style
on-the-go.

The ASUS F6V Series is now available for pre-order exclusively at
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=asus+f6v-c1&x=0&y=0

For more information please visit:
http://promos.asus.com/campaign/t.aspx?n=223&l=1505
Specifications

LCD: 13.3″

Processor: Intel(R) Core™2 Duo

Memory: 4GB

HDD: 320 G

ODD: Super Multi

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

WLAN: 802.11 N

Web Cam: 1.3 M

LAN: 10/1000/1000

Card Reader: 8-in-one/Express Card

*Package includes: carrying bag, mouse, 6 cell battery.
MSRP: $1,299